Key Takeaways:
- The Intermarché Cyberattack affected around 150 Intermarché stores across France on Monday.
- Hackers raised refrigerator temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius for six hours.
- The company threw away affected food to protect customers’ health.
French retail group Les Mousquetaires said on Monday that a cyberattack affected around 150 Intermarché supermarkets, forcing staff to throw away food after hackers raised refrigerator temperatures.
Intermarché Cyberattack Targets Refrigeration Systems
Les Mousquetaires, the parent company of French supermarket chain Intermarche, confirmed that hackers targeted its systems on Monday. The attack affected around 150 stores across France, including their connected temperature controls.
The company said the attackers changed system settings, raising refrigerator temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius. The temperatures remained high for six hours before staff restored normal controls. The incident disrupted store operations and put food supplies at risk.
Store employees quickly removed affected products from display cases. The Intermarché Cyberattack prompted the company to order staff to throw away the food to prevent possible health risks to customers.
Intermarche Throws Away Food to Protect Customers
The decision to discard the food helped prevent potentially spoiled products from reaching customers. Staff cleared affected chilled and frozen food sections at the stores involved. The company put food safety ahead of the cost of replacing the discarded stock.
Les Mousquetaires began assessing the financial losses caused by the incident. Staff had to dispose of perishable goods exposed to high temperatures during the six-hour period. Stores also faced delays as they restocked empty shelves with fresh products.
Technical teams worked to secure the company’s networks and prevent further unauthorized access to store systems.
Engineers also worked to separate the affected refrigeration equipment from remote management systems. The company aimed to restore normal operations across the affected stores as quickly as possible.
Cyberattack Raises Security Concerns for Supermarkets
The Intermarché Cyberattack shows how cyberattacks can disrupt physical store equipment, not just computers and websites. Supermarkets rely on connected systems to control refrigeration and other essential operations. Hackers who gain access to these systems can put food supplies and daily store operations at risk.
Security teams are paying closer attention to connected equipment that can be controlled remotely. Supermarket chains need to protect these systems from unauthorized access while keeping them easy to manage. Retail companies continue to review their security measures to reduce the risk of similar attacks.
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